Many enterprise applications must interact with human users through a variety of media. For example, applications, such as e-commerce, customer relationship management, supply chain and crisis management applications, often interact with a user using one or more of voice, electronic mail, conferencing, instant messaging or text messaging communications media.
Traditionally, developers of such enterprise applications had to integrate the applications with a variety of communication servers that implement the desired communication media. Generally, developers were required to have a thorough understanding of the complex details of the required protocols and devote a substantial part of the application development effort to the integration with communication servers. In addition, developers were required to address the convergence of communication capabilities across protocols and media, i.e., the extension of capabilities from one communication protocol and medium to others and the alignment of similar, yet incongruous capabilities across different protocols and media.
Workflows provide a technique for automating business processes. A workflow is normally comprised of a series of logical steps or tasks that define a business process. Each step in the workflow typically contains a task to be completed and identifies the participants that should perform the task. In a workflow, documents, information or tasks are often communicated to one or more participants according to a predefined procedure. For example, a task in a workflow may specify that a document should be sent to one or more participants for review. Automated workflows help to ensure increased efficiency and accuracy when distributing information or tasks, and that tasks are performed according to the appropriate policies and procedures. Existing workflow engines, however, do not automate the process of including communication tasks in a workflow.
A need therefore exists for methods and apparatus for developing communications applications that bridge the communication media and communication application worlds. A further need exists for a communication application design and execution platform that provides a high-level workflow-based programming interface that facilitates the creation and maintenance of complex communications applications. Yet another need exists for a communication application design and execution platform that allows communication tasks to be included in a workflow.